Stay
by spazzytazzy
Summary: When Beca begins to tutor Jesse she never expected to become his friend, and she especially didn't expect to become more than that - but when his secrets become unveiled will everything between them change?
1. Chapter 1

**STAY**

**Chapter One**

"Are you going to ask your dad today?" Chloe asked, taking a sip of her diet pepsi.

Beca let out a sigh, "Why? So he can tell me hell no?"

Chloe smiled, "We're seniors. You _need_ a car, Beca. Explain to him that it's a dire emergency for our senior-ness! Besides, you're going to need a car for when you start college."

Beca glanced over as they passed the glass case right outside the Principal's office that held pictures of the student who got killed a year ago in a vehicle accident. She adjusted her bag strap as they walked through the school's front doors, "I'll work on it but don't hold your breath, Chlo."

They parted ways when they got outside and Beca met her dad at the end of the block. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and gave her a side-hug, "How was school?"

"Same as always."

"OK, its Beca and dad night, should we stop and get ice-cream?"

"Mmm, yes please."

After picking up a couple of chocolate dipped ice-cream cones they started their walk around the town as they always did Thursday evenings. "So dad…"

"Uh-oh." He responded.

Beca laughed, "Shut up."

"Okay Beca, let's hear it. What do you want?"

She licked her ice-cream and didn't look at him. "A car."

He laughed out loud at that, "You want me to buy you a car? Do you _know_ how expensive cars are?"

"Dad, it's not like you're hard up for cash." Beca groaned, "It doesn't have to be anything fancy, just something I can get around in."

He was making that throat growl that he always made when he was going to say no and Beca stopped in her tracks and looked up at the tall white and black house that she absolutely loved and could never pass without staring at. "Lets just think about this before you say no. I am a straight A student, I'm taking all Honor classes and I'm starting college next year. I'm going to need a car if you expect me to come visit you."

She watched him sigh and scratch his beard out of her peripheral vision, "Beca, I work at the college you're going to. We are going to see each other all of the time. BUT- I'll make you a deal. If you get a job and start saving up to help me make the car payments, then I will get you a car."

Beca stared up at the house, considering his offer. She saw the blinds in one of the windows move and she turned away from it, "Okay, deal."

* * *

Beca knocked lightly on the office door before taking a step inside, "You wanted to see me?"

The school counselor, Ms. Kerns, looked up from her papers and smiled. "Beca! Yes, please come in and shut the door behind you."

Beca did as she was instructed before taking a seat on the other side of Ms. Kern's desk.

"So how are you settling in here?" Ms. Kerns asked, still smiling. "You doing okay?"

"Umm, yeah, I'm doing just fine."

"Great, fantastic!" she beamed. "The real reason I wanted to see you was to see if you would consider being a tutor."

Beca groaned in her head, "Actually, I don't-"

"It would look wonderful on your college applications and both myself and the Principal would write you letters of recommendation. Did you know that colleges look for extra-curricular activities like that?" she asked, "Also, just think of the help you would be providing for someone who really needs it. His parents are also willing to pay you but they want that to remain just between us, okay?"

Beca's jaw nearly dropped to the floor. This could not really be happening right now.

"You would be helping him from after lunch until school gets out at 3."

She blinked, _seriously?_ "What about my afternoon classes?"

"Well," she straightened her shirt, "What with your academic history and the morning classes you will still be taking, you're going to have more than enough credits to graduate so that isn't going to be an issue. That's the reason we thought you would be such a good candidate for this."

"Okay."

"You'll do it?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

Ms. Kerns clapped her hands together, "Now, all students getting tutored are to remain anonymous."

Beca frowned, "They are?"

"Oh yes, definitely. Just to protect the students' privacy. _You_ will actually be helping an off campus student."

"An off campus student?" Beca asked her, confused. "You mean, like the kid is homeschooled?"

Ms. Kerns tapped a finger against her cheek thoughtfully, "He's still a student here, but we _do_ send him his assignments and he email's them back to his teachers. It's just a personal preference of his and we respect that as his school. He really is a lovely person."

Beca was sure that Ms. Kerns added the last part because Beca must have looked creeped out at this point, because she _felt_ creeped out. Was this guy a lunatic or did he look like Quasimodo? If he was homeschooled then why didn't his parents help him with his work – weren't kids homeschooled because their parents were overprotective or something?

* * *

"There is no way." Beca spoke aloud to herself, checking the address for the third time. She stared up at the black and white house that she had been obsessed with ever since she had moved here two months ago. She glanced down at the paper in her hand on which Ms. Keens had scribbled the address and shook her head and made her way up to the porch, hesitating.

What was she suppose to do if this guy was a total creeper?

_Okay Beca, get it together. You saw how much his parents are paying - if you want a car, this is the fastest way to make it happen._

She let out a breath and knocked loudly. The door opened and a man in dark slacks and a sweater answered the door, "You must be Miss Mitchell?"

"Uhh, just Beca is fine."

The man nodded and held the door open for her. "I'm Jesse's father, I'm glad you found the place."

"Yeah." Beca was too busy looking around. These people had to have hired an interior designer and must have a few maids because the inside of the house looked like it was straight out of a magazine.

"If you will follow me, I'll show you to my son's room."

Beca followed him up the stairs, imagining what might possibly be wrong with this Jesse kid. Maybe he had gills or he was a troll. Oh shit, maybe they paid Ms. Kerns to trick girls into tutoring and when the girls got there this psycho family skinned them alive and wore them. She jumped when the man knocked on one of the doors and slowly eased it open. "Well, here you are. If you're hungry or anything, Jesse will show you to the kitchen."

Before Beca could even thank him, he was already gone. _Oh God..._ Beca blew out a breath and walked into the room.

The boy, Jesse, was stretched out on his bed with a laptop propped on his stomach, headphones on to block out the sound of her arrival. She tried to clear her throat loudly a couple of times but he was oblivious to her attempt to gain his attention. Well, he didn't have strange warts with long hair flowing out of them and he didn't really _look _like he wanted to skin her alive (of course, she didn't know what he would look like if he _were_ a crazy).

Beca hadn't realized she was staring until she saw a pair of brown eyes looking back at her.


	2. Chapter 2

**STAY**

**Chapter Two**

Beca watched in amusement as he sat up quickly, his computer rolling off of him and onto the bed. He pulled out his ear buds and looked at her almost as if he were surprised to see her there, "Uh, hi."

"Hello."

"I'm Jesse." He told her, rising to his feet. He stood there next to his bed, poised straight as an arrow and watched her as if he were afraid that she was going to bolt from the room with any sudden movement that he might make.

"I'm Beca."

"Yeah, I know."

Beca raised one of her eyebrows at him before nodding and slinging her bag onto the edge of his full-sized bed, "So how long have you been homeschooled?"

"For a while." He answered vaguely.

Beca frowned at him, "How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"…How long have you been seventeen?"

She fought back a smile when Jesse started laughing, "Wow, you do not look like the kind of girl to be quoting twilight."

"I only watched it because my friend claims I look like one of the girls on there." She told him, unzipping her bag and pulling out her textbooks. "So, is there a certain subject that you're having problems with?"

"What? Oh!" Beca looked at him curiously and he laughed, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. "History annnddd Geography?"

"Oookay. Do you mind if I sit on your bed?" she asked, motioning to his Star Wars bed sheets and struggled not to grimace at them.

She could have sworn his cheeks reddened a bit, "Yeah, you- we- go ahead."

"You're kind of a weirdo, you know that?" she teased as she took a seat on his bed, hoping it might help him be a little more comfortable with her. This was going to be a horrible last semester if this guy could hardly stand to talk to her.

"Yeah, I'm sorry." He told her, sitting on the other end of the bed as her, "I just wasn't really expecting you."

Beca raised her eyebrows, "Ms. Kerns didn't tell you I was coming?"

"She said she would ask...what did she tell you about me?"

"That you needed help in some classes." Beca narrowed her eyes at him when he looked almost _relieved_ at her response. "And you know, that you killed somebody."

She smiled when Jesse's jaw dropped down and she reached forward to slap him playfully on the knee, "Would you lighten up?"

Jesse smiled, "Sorry, I don't really get to hang out with a lot of people my age."

"Why not? You don't hang out with any of your friends from before you were homeschooled?"

Jesse face scrunched up and he looked extremely uncomfortable with her question so she turned her attention away from him, glancing at the numerous movie posters that filled his walls. Seriously, this kid has so many that they were beginning to overlap each other. "Aah, you're a movie buff."

She glanced back at him in time to see his eyes light up and a big grin stretched across his face, "I love movies, they're my inspiration."

"Inspiration?" she questioned, "For decorating?"

"Ha-ha." He tilted his head cutely at her, "No. I want to get a job scoring movies."

Beca blinked, "That's ambitious."

Jesse laughed at her response, "Don't be so surprised!"

"Sorry, it's just that most of the people in my grade are going to be graduating in six months and have no clue about what college they want to go to, much less what they want to go to college _for_. It's kinda refreshing to meet someone with a goal."

She flipped open the pages in her Geography book and pulled her study guide out of her notebook, handing it over to him wordlessly while she flipped through her notebook pages until she found her hand-written notes from class that morning.

"I don't." he said quietly.

Beca tore her attention from her papers and looked at him, "Don't what?"

Jesse took a breath and let it out slowly, "I don't hang out with any of my friends from before I was homeschooled."

"Why not?"

He stared down at the study guide in his hands and half-shrugged, "People grow apart, I guess."

She watched Jesse's face when he said this. His eyes grew a little harder and a deep crease appeared on his forehead like he was thinking hard about something, something that obviously bothered him quite a bit. His lips looked even fuller when they were pouting like that and it made Beca wanted to reach out and touch them.

_Woah, get a grip Beca!_ She shook her head and cleared her throat, eager to change the subject so he would quit looking all depressed like that. For some reason, it made her stomach hurt to see him so obviously upset.

"Okay, so Geography."

* * *

"I'll see you tomorrow afternoon." Beca told him before giving him a small wave and leaving out the front door, her bag swinging back and forth in her hand.

Jesse watched her until as climbed into her beat up old Taurus and pulled out of the drive. Only when he heard the sound of somebody clearing their throat behind him did he shut the door and turn to face the music, so to speak.

"She seemed nice." His father said, arms crossed over his chest.

Jesse gave him a shrug, "Yeah."

He almost groaned when his father let out a weary sigh, knowing that he was about to add his input about the whole situation. "Do you really think there isn't going to be any talk, Jesse? That her friends – _your old friends _ – aren't going to say anything?"

"Ms. Kerns made her sign an agreement." Jesse muttered, his eyes cast to the carpet, tracing the small triangle shaped designs with the toe of his shoe.

"Keith, stop." His mother scolded lightly as she walked in. "You make it sound like-"

"That's how _they_ will make it sound." Keith huffed. "I'm not trying to sound like an asshole, Jesse, I just don't want you to have to go through everything that happened two years ago again."

"It's going to be fine dad." Jesse told him, forcing a smile before he turned and retreated back upstairs into his room.

**Short chapter – I'm sorry about that, I was rushing to try and get a new chapter out. I will try to make the chapters longer! Really hoping I didn't disappoint with this chapter – let me know! Thanks to everyone who reviewed & followed my story, I was so surprised by how many of you wanted to see this story continue.**


	3. Chapter 3

_**I have the next chapter for you guys! I had a really slow day at work and ended up just writing almost all day ~ warning though: I probably will not be able to upload a new chapter EVERY day buuut I will try my hardest to get them out fast. Thanks everyone for the reviews and story favorites!**_

**STAY**

**Chapter Three**

"Want a drink?" Jesse asked as he came into his room with two juice pouches in his hands. He tossed one to her and kicked his bedroom door shut with his foot before hopping up on the bed and lying down next to her.

She thanked him and took a drink before setting it aside. She settled back in the bed beside him, holding her book up as she tried to drill names and dates into his head for the upcoming test. Beca realized ten minutes in that Jesse hadn't really been listening to her. She stopped talking and turned to scold him but when she faced him and saw how close his face was to hers she froze.

Honestly, she was surprised that she was even breathing at his point. Jesse's gaze kept darting back and forth from her eyes to her lips and he inched his face even closer. Beca could hear her heart thumping loudly in her ears and prayed that it wasn't as loud as she feared it might be, a slight smile quirked the edge of his lip up and she was sure it was because he _could_ hear it.

"I want you, Beca." He whispered and a shiver tore across her body.

Her stomach clenched into a tight ball at his words, his voice low and husky and _sexy_. _Oh, Lord._ A million thoughts were rushing through her head until he closed the small gap between them and pulled her into a fierce, almost desperate kiss. It wasn't what she had been expecting from him, it was urgent and raw. She opened her eyes and ~

Beca opened her eyes and had to blink a few times, looking around like a crazy person until it dawned on her that it had all just been a dream. She groaned and pulled a pillow over her head, she did _not_ just have a sexy dream about Jesse. No – and she most definitely was _not_ disappointed that it had ended so suddenly.

Her whole body was still tingling from her dream and she finally sat up and rubbed her eyes. Why on earth would she have a dream like that about him? It wasn't as if she had a crush on him or anything. Sure he was sweet and nice and he made her laugh and they had gotten very comfortable with each other, but they were _just_ friends. There was absolutely _no way_ she thought of him in any kind of romantic setting.

_Right?_

* * *

"I'm pretty sure he likes me." Stacey told her friends, nodding. "He wants me to see him after lunch. In his room…alone."

Beca grimaced at the mental picture of Stacey and their pervy Biology teacher who always stared at all of the girls' chests. Benji looked at her from across the table, worry written on his face, "Are you sure you should go?"

"Duh, a little rub and tickle will help bring my grade up."

"Gross." Beca wrinkled her nose.

"Ohhh, enough of that talk." Chloe gave Stacey a disgusted look and shook her head, "Beca, you're so lucky Ms. Kern's is letting you tutor. I _wish_ I could skip my afternoon classes and just go do whatever I want."

"You probably could." Bumper told her, shoving a handful of fries into his mouth. "You know, if you were smart."

Chloe glared at him, "Bite me."

"You know I will baby." He winked.

"_Anyways._" Chloe shot him an annoyed look, "Are you going with us to the movies tonight, Beca?"

"Yeah, my dad said I can borrow his Taurus again this afternoon since he's still sick, so I'll just meet you guys at the theater at five?"

"We are _not_ watching a chick flick again." Bumper objected. "Let's go watch that new G.I. Joe movie."

"We didn't even invite you." Chloe objected.

"It has Channing Tatum in it." He countered, grinning triumphantly when Chloe bit her lip in consideration to her Hollywood heart throb. "He'll probably be shirtless."

Beca tuned them out as they started arguing about which movie would be better to watch. She wondered if Jesse would want to go watch a movie with her and her friends, the boy did like his movies. Maybe getting him out of the house and out with a group of people his age was something he wanted to do but he had just never had the opportunity.

Bumper was weird but he was also funny (when he wasn't being a chauvinistic pig), and she bet that Jesse would get along with Benji really well seeing as they were both the dorky adorable type (Beca could have sworn she saw Benji pull a lightsaber out of his locker yesterday).

Beca smiled to herself and took a bite from her burger, she was actually really excited to see him this afternoon so she could invite him. Not because she wanted it to be like, a date. No way, it was just strictly because she thought it would be really good for him to have a friend, besides her that is.

* * *

Beca yawned and pulled her arms up above her head to stretch out before falling back onto the bed, resting the History book against her knee's so that she could still read it. Jesse was still sitting up, his pen moving softly against the paper as he doodled instead of taking notes like he was supposed to be doing.

She turned her gaze from her book to the side of his face, noting how intense his face looked while he focused on his drawing. If he were that focused on taking notes and studying then he wouldn't even need her here to help him. Her eyes traced over the long curve of his dark eyelashes and the subtle growth of shadow along his jawline and before she could stop herself the thought of brushing her lips against his popped into her mind.

Almost as if he had heard her inappropriate thoughts, Jesse's dark eyes glanced over and caught her staring. Beca could feel her eyes widen slightly and she quickly snapped her eyes back to her book, begging her face not to flush.

When she glanced back over at him he had turned back to his drawing but now he wore a small smile on his face. Beca was mortified, "I wasn't staring."

"Mmhmm."

Her face really did flush with heat this time, "You just happened to look over right after I did."

She could see him struggling not to smile as he nodded, "Sure."

"Shut up."

Another few moments passed in silence before Beca's eyes drifted back over to Jesse against her will. _Damnit!_ She cursed herself angrily when he caught her looking at him again; she cleared her throat so she could pretend she was just waiting to get his attention the whole time. "Your dad doesn't like me very much, does he?"

Jesse looked startled at her question, "He likes you, he's just…overprotective, I guess."

It had been two weeks since Beca started tutoring Jesse and after the first few awkward days he had seemed to warm up to her and the two of them had settled into a routine. For the first thirty minutes she would struggle to get him to pay attention while she quizzed him, then the next hour was spent silently while he read over the chapter they had covered in class that day and she worked on her homework for tomorrow. The next few hours were spent with her _attempting_ to make him do his assignment while he found things to distract her – like funny Youtube videos, watching movies that he swore would 'rock her world' or telling her funny stories from his childhood.

At first Beca tried to fish out information from him – like why his best friend since the second grade never came over – but as soon as she would ask, Jesse would clam up and just not talk to her for the next half hour or either change the subject entirely. She gave up after a few tries.

"Every time I see him he either just glares at me or pretends like he doesn't even see me."

"Don't worry about it; he's just stressed with his job." Jesse shrugged before laying down his notebook and moving to lie down next to her, grabbing his laptop from his bedside table. "Want to watch a movie?"

Beca rolled her eyes at him, "You haven't even started the end of the chapter questions."

Jesse turned to face her and let the ends of his lips droop down and pushed out his bottom lip, giving her the puppy dog eyes. She laughed and hit him with one of the pillows, "How do you expect to graduate if you _don't do the work?_"

"I'll do it later, I promise. I'll have it done tonight." He promised, "My brain needs a movie break."

"Speaking of movie break…" Beca started. "A bunch of friends from school are getting together tonight and going to the movies, if you want to come?"

Jesse looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, "I can't, I have to do something with my dad."

Beca was surprised at how disappointed she felt when he said that, "You can't re-"

"Oh! Wait just a minute." He told her before rolling off of his bed and disappearing down the hall. Beca sighed and sunk down further into the bed, waiting for him to return.

"Want a drink?" Jesse asked when he finally returned, tossing her a juice pouch before he nudged his bedroom door shut with his foot.

Beca shot straight up and stared at him, making him stop in his tracks. "What?"

She shook her head and forced herself to laugh before she eased herself back down into the pillows, her heart thrumming. _Holy shit, that was almost too much of a coincidence!_

She tried not to stare at him while he sank down onto the bed next to her and took a drink from his juice. Beca's stomach was clenching up so tight that she couldn't even take a drink or she might throw it back up so she set it aside.

"I want you-"

"WHAT?" she nearly shouted, turning to look at him with wide eyes.

"-to tell me…what you think about something." He looked at her as if she had just gone crazy and screamed at him for absolutely no reason, which in fact she just had. "What was _that_ about?"

Beca blushed and ducked her head, "Nothing, I was just…umm, what do you want me to tell you?"

Jesse drew his eyebrows together and gave her a half smile, "Who's the weirdo now?" he teased, "I want to play you something and you have to give me your honest opinion about it."

"Okay." She told him, taking his ear buds when he handed them over to her.

"It's not finished yet." he informed her before starting it. Beca couldn't help but smile when the music that he had created began to flow through her, the music was made by piano and started out strong and playfully. It was beautiful. When it suddenly cut off she opened her eyes, not realizing that she had even closed them, and turned to face him.

Jesse was staring down at her, his face close – not as close as in her dream, but still…. Beca felt her breath catch and caught the movement his eyes made as they moved down to her lips before returning. She didn't even realize that he had moved closer until she felt his warm breath on her skin.

_He could kiss me right now,_ she thought. _If I let him._

Beca turned her head abruptly and stared hard at the computer screen, forcing a cheery voice. "Oh crap, look at the time! Umm, I told Chlo that I'd meet her when she got out of class and I'm going to be late if I don't go now."

"Okay."

"Your music's really good, by the way." She blurted, shoving her things into her bag and avoiding looking at him. She had reached his bedroom door when she stopped and turned back to look at him, "You can meet us there, if you change your mind about going."

Jesse nodded but his gaze was focused on his computer screen. Beca opened her mouth to apologize for acting crazy just then but instead she just turned and headed out, wondering why it was exactly she felt _disappointed_ that she hadn't let him kiss her.


	4. Chapter 4

**STAY**

**Chapter Four**

Beca had arrived at the movie theater nearly two hours before her friends had planned to meet up with her. Knowing that they wouldn't arrive until just before the movie started – she killed time by grabbing a hotdog from the café that was right next door before returning to the theater to spend her remaining time in the arcade.

She had just switched from the racing machine to the basketball game when she noticed that there was a guy leaning against the wall nearby with his arms crossed, watching her.

She frowned over at him before taking another shot which ended up completely missing, "Can I help you?"

"Are you Becky?" the boy asked, making her start.

"It's Beca and why do you want to know?"

He laughed and pushed off of the wall, coming to stand at the second basketball machine right next to her and inserting a few quarters before answering in his rather sexy British accent. "I'm Luke, Bumper's friend; he said everyone was meeting here at five. He also mentioned there would be a girl by the name of Beca coming as well and he described her to look just like you."

"Oh." She nodded before taking another shot –miss. "They didn't tell me anyone else was coming."

"Yeah, I just invited myself maybe ten minutes ago."

"And you're here so early because…?"

Luke laughed and took another shot and it flew easily through the hoop, he smirked at her afterwards. "I could ask you the same thing. We only have twenty minutes until the movie and I hate finding a seat at the last moment."

"So do I." she told him, taking another shot –this time it didn't even get far enough to graze the bottom of the net.

"You're really bad at this game." He informed her, as if she didn't already know. "Do you want to go to the concession stand and then go find seats while we wait for the others? I'll text them and let them know we're already inside."

"Umm, sure." She agreed, casting a look towards the doors. Jesse wasn't going to come, she knew that.

After texting their friends to find them in the theater, Luke bought them a large popcorn, two drinks and candy (after insisting to pay for hers) before they found their seats. Beca took a drink of her Mr. Pibb and kicked her feet up on the balcony, making herself comfortable.

_This isn't awkward at all._

"So where do y-" she began at the same time as he said, "How long hav-"

He shot a smile at her, a rather devilishly hot smile. "Sorry, you were saying?"

"I was just going to ask where you went to school."

"I went to Barden High last year, that's how I know Bumper." He explained, tossing some popcorn in his mouth. "I'm just working now."

Beca didn't notice how his well-defined abs were easily seen underneath his tight V-neck shirt. Well, she pretended not to notice it. Ok…she definitely noticed. Seriously, it looked like he smuggled marble under his shirt. "No college?"

"Ahh, you're one of _those_ people, aren't you?"

"What does that mean?"

He smiled and all Beca could think was that he _had_ to be getting his teeth professionally whitened. "You know, one of those people that think that college is a necessity to life. Which is fine if you think that, no judgment here, but is it better to go to college if you have the opportunity to do what you love now? Taking me for example: I DJ at the radio station down the road. Sure, I could have gone to school, but by the time I got out the position I have now would be long gone. Plus I hate school."

"There's that sexy piece of man, right there!"

Beca and Luke both turned to see Bumper climbing over seats until he made it to the row right behind them and plopped down, winking at Luke who rolled his eyes and fist bumped him. The rest of the group walked down the aisle like normal people. Chloe and Benji sat on the other side of Beca while Stacie, Donald and Cynthia Rose sat in the row behind them, with Bumper.

The movie was probably good but it was impossible to watch it with Bumper bouncing in his seat the whole time like a little kid, knocking their popcorn and candy to the ground (more than once) and laughing manically when something on the screen blew up.

By the time the movie ended Chloe had already gotten into a verbal argument with Bumper because he wouldn't _shut up_, Donald and Stacie had visited two "bases" in the row behind her, and Beca could swear she heard Lilly mention something about a dead body. She tried not to be a bit let down that she had been right about Jesse not going to show up at the movies but it was probably for the best – he would have been scarred for life.

Beca parted ways with them in the lobby as soon as Bumper busted out singing Whip It, there was absolutely no way she was hanging around for _that_. She was almost to her car when she heard approaching footsteps and turned to wait for Luke to catch up with her.

"Well, that was an interesting experience." He grinned at her. "Bumper is just too much sometimes."

"I'll never forget it, that's for sure."

"What are you doing right now?"

"I-what?"

"Do you want to grab dinner with me?" he continued, leaning down to whisper in her ear. "I can't help but find you insanely attractive."

* * *

"Good afternoon, Beca. I trust you had a good weekend?" Jesse's dad greeted when he let her in.

She smiled, "You trusted correctly, Mr. Swanson."

He shut the door behind her and disappeared back down the hall where she guessed his home office was. Beca stopped in the kitchen to grab a couple of juice pouches before heading upstairs to Jesse's room.

He had his ear buds in while he watched a movie and didn't notice Beca walk into his room, so naturally she threw one of the juice pouches at him in order to get his attention. Her aim hadn't miraculously improved over the weekend so the thrown juice pouch managed to smack into his lamp and tackle it to the floor, making Jesse jump nearly ten feet in the air and stare at her in shock.

Beca was nearly doubled over in laughter, "Oh my God, I am sooo sorry."

He reached over and retrieved the lamp and drink from the floor, righting them on the bedside table before returning to his spot on the bed and resuming his movie.

"Okkaaaaay." Beca frowned, slowly sinking on to the bed next to him.

When ten minutes passed and Jesse was still glued to his laptop she started getting annoyed. She turned so that she now sat facing him and just stared at him, challenging him. Beca saw his adam's apple bob a couple of times when he swallowed but his eyes never left the screen, until she reached out and slapped his arm.

"Ow." He mumbled, finally removing his ear buds and looking over at her. "What was that for?"

"Seriously?" she asked him, "You're sitting here _ignoring_ me."

Jesse reached up and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, "I'm not ignoring you."

"Oh, really? Then I think you must be mistaken on the definition of ignoring."

"I always watch a movie when you're here." He justified himself, giving her a half shrug.

Beca frowned at him, was he being serious right now? "Okay, yeah, but that's like…after I've been here for two hours and even when you're watching a movie you are still either talking to me or convincing me to watch it with you, not being a douche."

Jesse sighed and sank down on the pillows, "Sorry Bec, I had a bad night so I'm just…tired."

She rolled her eyes and sank down next to him, opening her notebook and pretending like her History notes were the most interesting thing she had ever read. It took everything in her not to whack him with her book and leave when he put his ear buds back in and continued his movie. She wasn't going to lie, the thought of tossing his computer out the window had definitely crossed her mind.

There was no way that Jesse was just tired, there had to be something else that was bothering him. Beca was seconds away from slapping her notebook shut and turning and shaking the truth out of him when she suddenly noticed that his hand was outstretched to her and in his palm was his other ear bud.

Beca glanced at him before she accepted his little gift and placed it in her ear; the Na-Na Na-Na Na-Na music from Jaws filled her head and then was followed by screams.

Beca stifled a yawn as she curled up on her side, her eyes getting heavier the further the movie progressed. She couldn't have watched more than fifteen minutes of it before her eyes closed and she fell asleep.

Jesse, on the other hand, stared at the screen blankly – not even noticing when the movie ended until he heard a small sigh and felt something press up against his side. He glanced over to see Beca, curled up against him, asleep. _God, she is beautiful._

_Get a grip, Jesse._ He told himself, shaking his head before setting his computer aside and grabbed his throw blanket from the end of the bed. He laid it over her, being careful not to wake her up before he lowered himself back down to start up another movie, clasping his hands together behind his neck.

He looked over at Beca a little later when he heard her mumbling in her sleep, her voice too low for him to make out what it was that she was saying. A firm frowned was on her face and she let out an annoyed noise before she once again scooted closer to him, her head ending up on his shoulder.

Jesse stared down at her for a moment before he lowered his left arm and wrapped it around her body, holding her close. With his free hand he reached over and trailed a finger down her soft cheek before mentally scolding himself. _Yeah, Jesse, way to be a complete creeper. She obviously does not think of you that way and if she wakes up to see you all over her, she's going to run away and _never_ come back._

He started to pull his arm from around her when she moved again, her arm sliding across his waist and laying there limply. Jesse tensed at the feeling of tingles her touch sent across his abdomen and he lay frozen for a moment, not sure what he was supposed to do in a situation like this.

_Screw it._ He thought, turning on his side to face her and pulled her close against his chest, resting his chin on the top of her head and wrapping his free arm around her. Jesse closed his eyes and sighed, he was in so much trouble with this girl. He had never intended to fall for her, he just wanted someone who didn't know his past and therefore wouldn't judge him for it. Wouldn't be deterred by it.

He just wanted, no.._needed_ someone to give him that chance and he had finally found that person. It just so happened that he also developed feeling for her along the way of their friendship and now he was so terrified that if somehow she were to discover his truth then it would completely change everything about the two of them.

He really didn't think he could take that.

**Woo-woo! Fireworks! Shazzle! Hope you all like the chapter, I have absolutely loved reading everyone's reviews and PM's. You guys are the bestest! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**STAY**

**Chapter Five**

Jesse sat in his car with his head resting on the steering wheel, trying to coax himself into getting out of the car and going inside. There was still twenty minutes before the movie started but he saw Beca's car in the parking lot so he knew that she was inside already. He shook his head, let out a breath and got out of his car – glancing around and pulling his baseball cap further down on his forehead before he stepped up to the window and bought a ticket.

When he got inside he was about to head on into #7 for the movie when he happened to spot her from the corner of his eye. At the concession stand. With some guy. Some guy who wasn't even really –THAT- attractive.

Jesse felt like he'd been punched in the stomach.

Beca had never mentioned having a boyfriend before but that didn't mean that she didn't have one. _Holy crap, I'm an idiot._

Jesse slipped into the showroom when Beca and that jackass started his way. He sank into one of the chairs in the back row, making sure that he was looking down when they passed in front of him to get to their seats.

_She invited him to tag along on her date with her boyfriend?_

Jesse was about to get up and go say hi when the doors opened and a loud familiar voice caught his attention and made him sing down as low as he possibly could. Bumper passed him without a glance and Jesse instantly jumped up and started making his way down the stairs, glancing back to make sure he hadn't been seen.

Just as he turned back to face forward he managed to nearly collide with a red-head going up the stairs, "Woah, sorry."

He moved past her and continued down the stairs, wincing when he heard "Hey, was that…?"

Jesse all but ran out the doors, mentally cursing himself for being so stupid. If Bumper would have seen him there would have been the biggest scene in the history of all scenes. Jesse slid back into his car and rubbed his face with his hands. This was crazy. He shouldn't have to hide.

One hour and forty-five minutes later Jesse was still sitting in his car, singing along softly to the radio, when he realized that the movies had let out and everyone was filing out of the theater. Jesse cursed and slid on a pair of dark shades, his eyes instantly finding her walking to her car.

It was ridiculous how big of a smile crossed his face when he noticed that she was not walking with that douchebag. That was – until she stopped and turned around and he ran up to her, flashing his stupid smile.

Jesse didn't want to admit how much seeing her with another guy bothered him, but it did. He nearly groaned out loud when Beca got in her car and the guy climbed into the passenger seat. Jesse bit his lip and debated on whether to follow them or not – not because he was a creeper who wanted to stalk her, but because what if this guy was a total tool and attacked her or something? Jesse couldn't let that happen.

He convinced himself that was a good reason and started up his car, peeling out of the parking lot so that he didn't lose sight of the car. It wasn't until he was sitting in a parking lot looking in on the two of them at a restaurant, talking and laughing.

"Seriously Jesse, this is pathetic and psychotic." He told himself out loud.

He shook his head before pulling out of the lot and heading home.

* * *

"_My place is right around the corner." Luke told her as they left the restaurant. "If you want to come over."_

"_Oh." Beca tucked her hair behind her ears, "No, that's okay."_

_He grinned, "We can just watch a movie if you want."_

"_I really can't, I should head home."_

_Luke reached out to touch a strand of her hair but she took a step back, shrugging at him. "I'm sorry Luke, there's this guy…"_

"_Aahh, so I lost before I even started?"_

"_I'm sorry, I wasn't really sure until we got here." Beca gave him a small smile._

_He nodded and held out his hand, giving her a handshake. "Well, thank you for dinner then. Maybe I'll see you around."_

_She said goodbye and slid behind the wheel, grateful that Luke had been so cool about the whole thing._

Beca had been awake for a while now, not daring to move in fear that she may wake up Jesse. The feel of his arms around her felt so…right, and she wasn't quite ready for him to pull them away. It wasn't until his grip on her slightly tightened that she moved her head back so she could look up at him.

Jesse was looking down at her, his eyelids half open from just waking up. Beca's chest felt like it was restricting when she placed a hand on his chest and trailed it upwards until her hand rested on his cheek. He looked completely shocked by her action but he quickly recovered, moving so that he was putting his weight on one arm and leaning over her.

Beca almost stopped breathing when his lips pressed against hers so gently, his lips moving to capture her own. Sucking, nibbling, kissing. She could feel her insides melt.

**Okay I just want to say that I am SOOO sorry that it has taking SO daggum long to update! I've been having personal issues.**

**Ugh I also want to apologize for this chapter – its extremely short and I'm sorry if its disappointing. Its so short because I just needed to get a chapter up for you guys and explain a little bit. **

**On another note – who watched the mtv movie awards? OMGZ Skylar Astin was so hot! Hahah!**


	6. Chapter 6

**STAY**

**Chapter Six**

Beca sat at her usual table in the school cafeteria, staring out the window absentmindedly while she counted down the minutes until lunch ended so she could leave and go see Jesse.

"Hey!"

Beca nearly knocked over her cup when Chloe shouted and laughed at Beca's response before taking a seat next to her. The rest of the gang joined them shortly, as they got to the cafeteria after their classes let out. "So Beca, we saw you drive off with Luke."

Beca pretended not to see Chloe's suggestive eyebrow wiggle, "Uh-huh."

"He is so hot, I wouldn't mind riding his Hogwarts Express." Stacie told them.

Chloe made a face and shook her head, "So, what happened?"

"Nothing. We went to dinner and then I went home."

"Are you going to see him again?" Chloe pressured, squeezing her arm slightly and grinning.

"No, he's not…my type." Beca finished lamely. "Hey – where's Bumper."

The table grew quiet at her question and Benji was finally the one to offer up a response. "His family went to his sister's grave."

Beca was taken aback. Bumper was always so upbeat and happy that she never would have guessed that he had dealt with a family tragedy like this. "What happened? I've never heard him mention a sister, did it happen when they were kids or something?"

"She was murdered." Stacie said bitterly.

As soon as she said it Benji made a strangled noise in his throat and stood quickly, shrugging off Chloe's hand and walking out of the cafeteria. Chloe sent a nasty glare at Stacie, who just gave her a guilty half-shrug and focused on her food. Beca looked after Benji's retreating back, "Is he okay?"

Chloe nodded, "He's been best friends with Bumper since they were kids so Aubrey was like Benji's big sister as well. Bumper and Benji don't like to talk about it, the loss was devastating especially since –"

The bell rang in the middle of Chloe's sentence signaling the students that lunch was now over. Beca told them goodbye and headed out of the school, starting the trek to Jesse's house on foot. She knocked on the door when she arrived but there was no answer, she frowned before reaching out and trying the door – it was unlocked.

"Hello?" she called out after stepping inside and shutting the door behind her. "Jesse?"

The house was eerily silent as she made her way up the stairs and to Jesse's room, which turned out to be empty. _What the heck?_

Beca was about to back out of his room and go look around the house when a pair of arms wrapped around her from behind, scaring the shit out of her and causing her to scream like a horror flick actress. The arms released her and she twirled to find Jesse doubled over, laughing at her.

"You are such an ass!" she hissed, smacking him on the arm.

"I didn't know you were going to freak out like that!" he told her, holding his hands up in surrender. "Why are you sneaking around?"

"I wasn't sneaking around!" Beca scowled, "Nobody answered the door and I called your name but you didn't answer. There could have been some psycho in here holding your family hostage, for all I knew!"

Jesse gave her an amused smile and pulled her to him so that her head rested on his chest, "My parents are out and I was in the basement looking through boxes."

"I've been coming here for over a month now and I didn't even know you _had_ a basement. You're actually a really bad host and you should feel ashamed of yourself."

Jesse laughed and backed up, taking her hand. "Lets give you a tour then."

Beca had known that his house was big just by the outside of it but she was in no way prepared for how huge it was on the _inside._ Seriously – she was pretty sure one of the dressers led to Narnia. Her favorite part of the tour was the greenhouse room; the smell of all the assortment of flowers hit her like a wave. It may have been the most beautiful thing that she had ever seen.

"My mom loves flowers. This is where she spends most of her time." Jesse told her, his voice soft and adoring.

"What's this room?" Beca asked when they started back towards his room, motioning to a door they had skipped altogether.

"Oh, it's just the basement. Nothing fancy." He replied, continuing towards the stairs.

"No way, it's part of the tour!" Beca objected, opening the door and starting down the dark stairs slowly, feeling her way with her feet. She heard a soft chuckle behind her and then Jesse turned on the lights, following her down the rest of the stairs.

The basement didn't look like it even belonged in this house, instead of the high-class furniture and decoration there was a stained throw rug and an old orange and yellow couch. There were vinyl records scattered all over the place and bookshelves overflowing with old VHS tapes and books. Beca smiled as she trailed her finger along the spines and stopped when she saw a picture frame lying face-down on top of the bookshelf.

When she reached for it Jesse made a low grunting noise and she hesitated, raising her eyebrows at him questioningly. He turned and pulled one of the books out and flipping it open, pretending that he wasn't watching her as she fought back a smile and flipped the picture frame up. It was of Jesse with his arm looped around the shoulders of a beaming girl, their faces frozen in laughter.

"An old friend." He told her, returning his book and taking the picture from her before laying it face-down again.

Beca watched him walk across the room and sink down onto the ugly puke-colored couch, clicking the television on. She walked around the hideous thing and took a seat next to him, draping her legs over his before reaching up and turning his face towards her. A slow, sexy smile made its way across his face as he leaned down to kiss her, his hands sliding down to her waist and pulling her up onto his lap.

Thrill shot up through her body, swirling through her chest like a tornado at his every touch. Jesse pulled his head back but his hands stayed firmly on her hips, "I want to take you somewhere tomorrow."

"We can't go today?"

"No…not today. Can you skip your morning classes?"

Beca linked her arms around his neck, "I'll see what I can do."

"Good." He smiled, drawing her back into a kiss.

* * *

"How much further is it?" Beca asked, panting as they climbed. _Damn I need to start working out, this hike is killing me!_

He laughed and tugged her hand, "We're almost there."

When they arrived at their destination Beca laughed and shot Jesse a grin. They had spent a good chunk of their morning climbing that horrible mountain from hell but at the top you were able to look back and see almost the whole entire town. "Wow, this is beautiful."

Jesse smiled, pleased at her response and he took a seat on a blanket she hadn't noticed before. She started laughing when she saw the picnic basket and sat beside him, gratefully taking the plate he offered her. Thank God he brought food because she wasn't sure she'd be able to make it back down without fuel. "You're kind of a cheeseball."

"You kind of like it." He countered.

She smiled and rolled her eyes at him, "How did you find this place?"

"A couple years ago I decided I wanted to run away – I know, usually you're younger when you do that – but anyway, I just started climbing and climbing and climbing and I just happened upon this place. Now it's like my sanctuary, I come up here when I need to get away and think."

Beca set her empty plate down on the ground when Jesse laid down on his back, closing his eyes. She leaned over him on her hands and knees and watched his eyes open again in response to her proximity. She smiled down at him before giving him a soft kiss, gently nipping his bottom lip. "You brought me to your sanctuary?"

"I've been wanting to bring you for a while." He admitted, grabbing her and flipping her over so that she was the one under him now. "I just didn't know the right time to do it."

Her breath caught as his lips trailed a fiery blaze along her chin and down her neck, "I must be pretty special."

"You could say that." He murmured, his voice husky.

She was caught off guard when Jesse suddenly rolled off from on top of her and onto his back, breathing heavy. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just…don't want to rush anything." He said, pulling her against his chest and kissing the top of her head. She didn't hear him when he mumbled, "I don't want to see you get hurt."

**Longer chapter – yay! Thank you all for your wonderful and kind reviews to that last chapter. Ugh I dreaded posting it because it was lacking and super short but you guys are seriously the BEST. Hopefully this chapter makes up for it…can't wait to read your reviews! **


	7. Chapter 7

**STAY**

**Chapter Seven**

Beca spread her arms out wide and shook her shoulders back and forth, regretting that she let herself get talked into performing a song and dance number with her friends in the upcoming school talent show. She sighed when she missed the next move _again_ and threw her hands up in defeat.

"Beca, you have to roll your hips."Chloe instructed, showing her once again the correct way to do it.

"My hips don't do that." Beca complained, running a hand through her sweaty hair.

The two of them had been practicing the dance moves for the last two hours and Beca was pretty sure that she was actually _worse_ now than when they first started. She collapsed on the floor, "I need a break."

"What in the _hell_ is on your neck?" Chloe demanded. "Do you have a hickey?!"

Beca raised her hand to cover the offending 'love bite', "No."

"It is!" she squealed, "I thought you said no to Luke!"

Beca's face flushed, "It wasn't him. I haven't even _seen_ Luke since the movies like, a month ago."

Chloe's eyes lit up, "So if it wasn't Luke then who was it? I can't believe you've been holding out on me! Oh my God – is it Bumper? I've seen the way he looks at y-"

"Ew, no!"

Chloe laughed loudly at her response, "Who is it then?"

"His name's Jesse." She mumbled.

"Jerry?"

"No, Jesse!"

Chloe laughed, "Who is Jesse? Where did you meet him?"

Beca blushed, "He's the guy I've been tutoring, his name is Jesse Swanson."

"_What_?"

"You can't say anything to the others though, Ms. Kerns is adamant about privacy or whatnot." Beca told her, rolling her eyes.

"Beca, your father is here!" Chloe's mother called from the other room.

"Finally!" Beca exclaimed, ready to go home and wash the sweat off of herself. "I'll see you later."

Beca grabbed her jacket and pulled it on, heading for the door. She turned back to give Chloe a wave and paused when she saw the red-head, her hands balled into fists and her lips pressed tightly together, staring at the floor. "Chloe, are you okay?"

Chloe looked up at her and nodded, a smile appearing on her face. "Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

Beca did her final spin and then they all posed as the music came to an end. She nearly kissed the stage floor when Chloe walked to the front of the group and beamed, clapping her hands together loudly. "That was wonderful; everyone has the moves all down, so we'll just have a few more practices to make sure that it really sticks for the big performance Saturday!"

Chloe had insisted that they all practice their singing and dance moves during lunch while Beca was still there so that they could 'move as a team' and the baby carrots and cucumber slices that Chloe laid out for them to snack on instead of eating lunch was about to cause a riot.

"You guys have fun, I gotta go." Beca smiled, pulling her bag onto her shoulder.

She flashed a smile at Chloe who looked at her with a strange, almost sad expression on her face before she spun around and instructed everyone to meet back here at the same time tomorrow, earning loud groans all around.

She had been acting extremely…off…since Beca had left her house a couple days ago. She kept a smile on her face per usual but sometimes Beca would catch Chloe watching her almost like she wanted to tell her something. Whenever she brought it up though, Chloe would just laugh and claim that she was just worried about their performance.

Beca smiled when she walked into Jesse's basement twenty minutes later and saw that he sat there with movies sprawled all across the floor, surrounding him. When he looked up and saw her, the most adorable smile crossed his face. "Beca!"

The basement had turned into their spot. Beca found it so much more normal feeling than the cold perfection of the rest of the house, the basement actually looked lived-in.

Jesse climbed up onto the couch and grabbed her hand, pulling her onto his lap before greeting her with eager lips. Beca gratefully escaped into him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her body against him.

She shivered when his hand moved from her tip to touch the skin beneath her shirt, leaving her skin almost numb where he touched. His palm roamed over her flat stomach before creeping upwards, his fingers tracing the swell of her breasts above her bra.

Desire filled Beca's core and she moved so that she lay on her back on the couch, pulling Jesse down on top of her. They had been dating almost a month now and this was usually as far as they would get before Jesse pulled away and tried to distract her into watching a movie.

This time was the same as always and she could feel him start to retreat. Seriously? Why was this guy not willing to take it any further? She was more than willing! Beca pushed on his chest so that he raised up over her, "Are you going to come watch my amazing musical performance?"

Jesse gazed down at her and for a moment his face grew almost cold. "I don't…I can't."

"Why not?" she demanded, sick of the big secrecy. "Did you get bullied or something?"

"Lets just watch a movie an-"

"No." Beca snapped. "You _always_ change the subject Jesse. Why wont you tell me wha-"

Jesse sat up, "Because I don't want to!"

Beca sat up after he snapped at her and then got off the couch. She watched as he walked across the room and fiddled with one of the bookshelves. "Are you being serious right now?"

"Just drop it." He sighed.

She was furious. Hurt. Confused. She fought back the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks, "I'm your girlfriend, and you're supposed to be able to talk to me."

"Not about everything." He said quietly, still refusing to look at her.

Beca wiped at a tear that escaped and stood up, shaking. Without so much as a word she grabbed her backpack and left.

* * *

**Oh no! Their first fight! Which means the next chapter is…make up time. *plays sexytime music* reviews – should I keep it PG or let it get a little bit risqué? **

**Thanks for all your wonderful reviews! **


	8. Chapter 8

**STAY**

**Chapter Eight**

Beca climbed the stairs to her bedroom, grateful that her dad went out to play poker with his friends tonight. One look at her face and he would know something was wrong.

She had swatted at the tears that had escaped on her way home, leaving angry red marks on her cheeks. At least the sky had politely waited until she got in the house before starting its downpour.

Beca curled up on her bed, a book open on her lap. She had just gotten to the part where the New American soldiers came out of the plane when a loud knocking on her window scared her, making her scream.

She was about to make a run for it when she realized that the face peering in at her was familiar. Beca debated on whether she should even let him in, maybe she should just let him stay out in the rain with only the thin tree branches as cover from the storm. It would serve him right.

Finally she rolled her eyes and walked across the room, unlocking the window and shoving it up so that Jesse could fall into her room.

He pushed himself up to his feet and shook his head, sending water around the room. Beca shut the window and leaned her back against it, crossing her arms as she glared at him. He let out a breath and sighed, "I'm a moron."

"Uh-huh."

He gave her a small smile, looking at her bashfully from under his eyelashes. Beca's eyes roamed over him, trying not to notice the way the rain made his white t-shirt cling to him without luck. When she returned her gaze to meet his she instantly blushed when he gave her an almost smug smile, realizing she'd been caught.

"I didn't mean to hurt you." He continued, taking a step forward. "I never want to hurt you."

Beca felt her pulse quicken as he took another step, slowly closing the distance between them. "Don't." she objected softly, too softly for him to take it seriously.

He was close enough to reach out and trail his fingers up her arms playfully, stopping when they cupped her face. Beca frowned at him as his face lowered to hers, "I'm mad at you."

"I know." He whispered back, pressing his forehead against hers. "I'll explain everything."

"Then explain." She demanded quietly, raising her hands up to press against the thin, wet fabric that covered his hard abs – feeling him shiver. "You're soaked."

He nodded, rubbing his nose along hers. She closed her eyes, letting out a shaky breath before opening them again in order to look at him. "You're going to get sick from wearing wet clothes."

His eyes studied her seriously for the longest time before he finally pulled his shirt off over his head and moved so close to her that his bare chest pressed ever so lightly against her breasts, his hands making their way down her sides until they rested on her hips. They trailed up, sneaking under her shirt and moving up, making her body feel as if it were on fire. She was terrified and thrilled at the same time.

Sure, they had fooled around before with shirts off and hands roaming but this time seemed different. This time she knew what she wanted, and it was him.

When his hands got to the bottom of her bra they stopped suddenly and she opened her eyes to look up at him in question. "I need to tell you something – before this goes any further."

Beca frowned, her heart pounding in anticipation to his words. Jesse lowered his lips until they hovered over hers, barely touching, "Beca, I love you."

"I love you too." She answered, her words rushing together.

"We don't have to go any furth-" he started, getting cut off when Beca pressed her lips firmly against his.

His hands stayed frozen where they were, his body tense against hers. Slowly she felt him relax against her and he grabbed the bottom of her shirt, tugging it up and over until she was freely standing in front of him in her maroon colored bra. Thank God she wasn't wearing her ugly nude bra with the frayed straps!

Jesse's hands snaked around her back and down, down, down until he cupped her butt, lifting her up to allow her to wrap her legs around his waist. Their lips crashed together as he carried her to the bed, lowering her onto the mattress. The feel of his body pressed hard against hers made her entire body feel as if there were electrical shocks being pumped into her.

"Your dad?" he asked, his voice thick and husky.

"Won't be back for hours." She replied, letting out a breathy moan as he kissed along her collarbone.

Jesse's kisses trailed down, as did his hands which played with the lace design along the edge of her bra before he tugged it down, exposing her. He made a guttural noise before his lips met the soft mounds of her breasts, his mouth encompassing her nipple.

Her body temperature must have risen because she felt like she was on fire, an aching need blossoming between her legs. His tongue searched, his teeth nipped and she used her legs that were still locked around his waist to pull him to her, his hardness straining against his still-damp jeans.

Jesse's sucking grew more urgent when she reached down and unsnapped jeans, pushing them down his hips. She let out a whimper when he pulled away from her achy breasts in order to remove his remaining clothes. Just as quickly his lips found hers again as he slid her pajama pants and panties off of her.

Beca's legs once again wrapped around his waist, ready for him. All of him. Jesse smiled down at her, reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "Hold on."

She wanted to object, thinking that he was going to back out – there was no way she could stop now. Her body was literally _aching_ to be with his. He sent her another smile after fishing a condom from his jeans pocket and rolling it on.

Beca's heart beat so hard that she was afraid it might jump straight out of her chest as he positioned himself over her again, his arms on either side of her to hold himself up. Her hands rested on his back, subtly pulling him closer, quietly urging him to continue.

A deep moan slipped between her lips when he ran himself slowly along her folds, teasing her. "Jesse."

It was when she whisper-moaned his name that he pushed his hips forward, her wetness allowing him to easily slide himself into her. He froze when he was inside of her, pushing his face into her chest. Beca reached up and ran a hand through his hair, "Jesse, please." She begged.

Slowly, slowly, she felt him move, rolling his hips back and forth, pressing himself deeper inside her. Her fingers pressed into his skin, her nails lightly scratching into his flesh – the action resulting in him pulling his hardness out to the tip before thrusting back inside.

Their bodies moved together like waves, the friction from his movement against her clit curled her toes and made her knee's tremble. Beca could feel it building inside of her with each thrust until finally her orgasm ripped its way free, causing her to let out a cry, her clitoris throbbing in the wake of her release.

Jesse only gave a few more thrusts before he released a low moan and pulled out of her, pulling her along when he rolled onto his back. He held her tight against his side, placing soft kisses on her forehead, his hands gently trailing up and down her side.

"I got in a huge fight with some guy from the school, he was my best friend." Jesse whispered into her hair, "Our friends all took his side and I just couldn't take the looks I got. That's why I left."

Beca pulled herself up on top of him, straddling his lap and leaning down so her chest pressed against his, their noses touching. His hands rubbed her thighs and she smiled, capturing his lips. "Thank you."

Jesse gave her an almost sad smile.

* * *

***hides face* omg I hope that was okay. I've never tried to put sexytimes into words before LOL**

**Okay I know I told some of you this chapter would be up on Sunday…sorry! I have a really good excuse. I got obsessed with this book series called Eve and could NOT put it down. I went to work today with only 3 hours sleep! Hahaha, thanks for the patience!**


	9. Chapter 9

**STAY**

**Chapter Nine**

Beca twirled to stick the next move and stopped when she saw Jesse push his butt out and shake his hips, playfully making fun of her. She laughed and pushed him, "That is _not_ what I look like!"

"Just let me dance!" he objected, running his hands down his chest.

When Beca was finally able to control her laughter she shook her head and plopped down on the couch, "You are impossible."

Jesse grinned at her before sitting next to her, pulling her legs up across his lap. "That was really good."

"I'm going to ruin the whole thing." She groaned, "I'm going to forget my moves and knock somebody off of the stage!"

"Beca, it's going to be fine. It'll be more than fine." He tried to assure her, "You're not just singing, you're singing acapella. That's aca-awesome!"

"Oh God." Beca groaned, hiding her face in his shoulder. "You are _so_ lame!"

He laughed at her response and ran his hands up and down her thigh slowly, his fingers pushing the hem of her dress up higher. "I like this dress."

She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, moving so that she straddled his lap. A thrilling shock shot through her when his hands gripped her hips firmly and pulled her closer. Beca smiled softly at him as she ran her hands through his hair, down his neck and chest and then she slowly pushed his shirt up and off of him.

Her hands roamed over his abs, hard and hot beneath her hands. She let out a happy sigh when he trailed kisses along the swell of her breasts that were exposed in the dress she wore. Her lips captured his and she was so caught up in him that she let out a protestant grunt when his hands moved their hold from her hips. He laughed against her mouth and lifted his hips enough so that he could slide his jeans off beneath her before placing his hands back on her hips and drawing her back to him.

Beca lifted herself up onto her knees and slowly lowered herself onto him, letting out a low groan as he slid inside of her. Just like the first time – it felt almost…magical. The way that their bodies moved against each other, almost as if they were one person, amazed her. Was this how everyone felt? Surely not.

Heat spread across the bottom of her feet, announcing to her how close she was, mere moments before she cried out as wave after wave of pleasure pulsated through her.

Afterwards they laid on the couch facing each other, wrapped in each other's arms. Beca felt her eyes growing heavier by the second, feeling Jesse press kisses against her hairline as her eyes finally shut and she fell asleep.

* * *

"TONIGHT!"

Beca laughed when the audience began to hoot and holler after their performance, her face flushed when people actually stood to cheer for them. They all bowed (except for Bumper, who blew kisses) and then hurried off of the stage to allow the next act to go on.

"Beca, you did wonderful! I'm so proud of you!" her dad grinned, giving her a kiss. "I'm going to go get the car, I'll meet you outside."

Beca grinned at him in response and nodded, telling her friends goodbye before heading out of the gym. Once in the hall though she stopped when she saw Jesse leaning against the wall while he waited for her.

His whole face lit up when he saw her and she threw her arms around his neck, kissing him. "You came!"

"Yeah." He told her, an almost nervous tremor in his voice.

"What's wrong?" she asked him, suddenly worried.

"Nothing, let's go. Do you think your dad will let me take you home?"

Beca smiled, slipping her hand into his. "Of course."

Jesse squeezed her hand as the door to the gym opened, he glanced over her shoulder towards the noise and just as suddenly his face turned hard. "Jesse?"

"What the _fuck."_

Beca frowned and turned around to see a red-faced Bumper standing there, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. "You piece of shit."

"Woah, wait, is Beca with _him_?" she heard Stacie whisper loudly.

_What in the hell?_

What happened next was so fast that Beca wasn't even sure that it could have happened. One second Bumper was glaring across the hall and the next second he was there beside her, his fist swinging out and catching Jesse on the side of the head and sending him to the ground. Hard.

Someone screamed as Bumper jumped on top of Beca's boyfriend, his face twisted into pure rage. He managed to get a couple more hits in before a couple of their classmates were able to pull him off and hold him back. Beca hadn't even realized she'd been the one screaming until she finally stopped and dropped to the floor next to Jesse, cradling his bloody face in her hands.

"What the _fuck_ is wrong with you?!" she screamed at Bumper, who was struggling against the boys holding him back.

"Me?!" he shouted back, his eyes still locked on their target – Jesse. "That piece of shit is a _murderer_."

Beca let out a strangled laugh, "Are you high?"

Bumper finally turned his attention from Jesse and looked at her, "Why don't you ask him about Aubrey? How he fucking _KILLED_ her!"

"Your sister? You are insane!" she shook her head and turned back to Jesse, "Come on, let's go."

"Tell her the truth, Jesse!" Bumper screamed.

Jesse turned to her with the most heartbreaking look she had ever seen in her life and she saw the tears that threatened to spill. "He's right. I did kill her."

"What?" Beca felt the world stop at that moment. All of the noises around them faded and it was only them, staring at each other for the longest time in complete and total silence.

"Bumper, quit! Just let him go home." Benji's voice broke through the silence, pulling Beca's attention back to her group of friends who all gave her such pitying looks that it made her sick. Jesse wasn't a murderer. It had to be some sort of mistake. He never would have killed someone.

_So then why is he admitting that he did?_

When Beca turned to look at Jesse he had already stood and strode out the front doors, not looking back at her. Not even a glance.

"Beca." Chloe's soft voice said from beside her, soft hands touching her shoulders.

"How could you _be_ with that-that _thing!_?"

"She didn't know, Bumper." She heard Benji say in her defense.

Beca stared at the floor, at the blood smear that was the only indication that Jesse actually had been there and the fight was real, not just in her head. "How?"

Chloe was the only one close enough to hear her question. "There was a party…"

"You want to know?" Bumper asked, shrugging himself free. "Yeah, like Chloe said, we were all at a party. Aubrey wasn't feeling well so Jesse offered to drive her home – the son of a bitch _lied_ and said he hadn't been drinking and then he decided to take the curves as fast as fuck and flipped the car. He didn't even call for help as my sister lay there dying."

Beca was going to throw up.

"_Stop it!"_ Chloe shouted, "Just STOP!"

"I won't stop!" Bumper shouted back, "I will _never_ stop. Not until he's six feet under. He was supposed to be gone – they said he moved to live with his aunt!"

Beca hid her face in her hands as her stomach rolled angrily. Chloe was furious now, "Bumper, I swear to God if you do not _SHUT UP!"_

"He sat there in the driver's seat and watched her bleed to death." Bumper continued. "He's a fucking psychop-"

Before he could finish his sentence everything in Beca's world went dark.

**I'm very sorry if there are any errors, I am so tired that I'm falling asleep at the keyboard ahah but I wanted to get this done and up for you guys! Dun Dun DUNNNNN. Poor Jesse **** let me know your thoughts! Haha a lot of you totally guessed car accident ~ woah!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Ch 10 - Stay**

Beca slammed her phone shut and threw it angrily across the room, sinking down along the wall to her bedroom floor, hiding her face in her hands.

It had been a week since the incident at school and Jesse was MIA. She'd tried calling, texting, emailing and going to his house multiple times – but she got no response.

Why wouldn't he talk to her?

Her dad had allowed her to stay home from school this last week after seeing how distraught she was after Chloe led her out to his waiting car after the fight, but if she wanted to graduate she would have to go back to her classes next week. She had heard her friend whispering to her dad, explaining, but she couldn't even think clearly enough to make out what exactly she had told him. Her dad tried to talk to her at first but when he realized that she was not going to speak to him he gave up and left her alone.

Chloe had tried calling and visiting but Beca refused to see or speak with her, not until she could talk to Jesse. Not until she heard what he had to say.

_Jesse._ Beca's heart felt like it was being crushed inside of her, she had always thought that being broken-hearted was just something people said to make others feel sorry for them. This _honestly_ felt like she was broken inside.

She retrieved her phone and dialed his number again, letting out a choked cry when it went straight to voicemail. "Jesse," she gasped, a sob racking through her body. "Please Jesse, _please call me_."

She hung up again and wrapped her arms around her legs, burrowing her face into her knees while she cried. Beca almost didn't hear her door squeak, announcing that someone had entered her room. She didn't even bother looking up, not wanting to see her dad's worried face or hear for the umpteenth time that 'everything is going to be okay', because it _wasn't_ going to be okay.

It wasn't until the intruder took a seat next to her and patted her knee that she finally looked up to find Benji sitting next to her, his face a mask of sorrow and pain. More tears slipped out but she wiped them away with the arms of her long shirt, "What are you doing here?"

Benji swallowed and looked down at his hands, "Chloe is really worried about you, we all are. She thought maybe it would help if I talked to you…if I told you what happened."

Beca shook her head and swiped at her face as more tears came. "No. I want to hear it from Jesse, I need to speak to him but he won't talk to me."

Her tears came faster and harder when she admitted to him that Jesse wouldn't speak to her. Saying it out loud made it true, that he was avoiding her. Why would you avoid someone that you _loved_? "You don't understand. You don't understand Jesse, you-"

"He was my best friend." Benji whispered, barely loud enough for her to hear.

Beca wiped her face and turned to him, silently begging him to explain. Benji looked over at her, "Bumper, Jesse and I were best friends since the first grade. We did everything together, and we all _adored_ Aubrey – she was like a big sister to Jesse and me. Bumper's parents called us that night and we met them at the hospital. Jesse was just sitting in the waiting room, crying and apologizing over and over again. I remember him getting on his knees and just _begging_ us to forgive him, not to hate him, but we just…couldn't. Everything was broken."

Beca could feel her heart constricting in her chest as Benji continued, his eyes filling with tears at the memory. "Bumper changed after Aubrey died, he used to be a completely different person. He…a part of him died when she did. He made Jesse's life _hell_ at school, then one day Jesse just stopped coming back. We heard he moved to another state to live with his aunt and uncle. I remember that last day he was at school, he just looked at me like he was hoping I would do or say something but I never did."

He frowned at his hands as if he were blaming them. "I was his best friend but I didn't stand up for him. It was an accident, he didn't intentionally do it. I thought maybe it would all blow over and he could come back eventually, but last night was proof that Bumper is never going to forgive him for what happened."

Benji let out a forced laugh and shook his head, "I don't even remember Jesse drinking that night. He was always the responsible one."

The two of them sat together in silence for almost an hour before Benji finally left, giving her a hug before he did so. Beca again tried to call Jesse but received no answer.

_Why are U doing this? PLZ call me. U said you loved me._ She texted, swallowing back another round of fresh tears.

After another hour passed with no response from him she finally walked into the bathroom and stripped off her clothes before standing under the showerhead. The hot water beat down on her, making her feel almost human again. Almost.

* * *

"Please, Mr. Swanson!" Beca cried, banging on the door. "Mrs. Swanson, it's Beca! Open the door!"

She was caught off guard when the door actually opened for her and Jesse's very pissed-looking dad glared down at her, "Jesse's not here."

He went to close the door but she slapped her palms against it, "Please, where is he?"

"I _knew_ I shouldn't have agreed to this tutoring crap." He spoke, shaking his head. "I _knew_ this would come back to bite us in the ass. I told him this was a stupid idea."

"I need to talk to him!" she shouted as the door slammed shut in her face. She was livid as she took a few steps back and stared up at his bedroom window, which was closed and had a thick curtain drawn over it. "JESSE!"

Beca stood outside in the lawn, her arms crossed at her chest for an hour and a half before the front door opened again. Her heart beat loudly and she dropped her arms as she took a step forward – stopping when she saw that it was only his mom coming out.

The woman let out a quiet sigh, "He's leaving to go stay with a relative tomorrow."

Beca felt her chin tremble, "Why won't he talk to me?"

She just gave Beca a sad look, "He's not even home. He leaves almost the whole day and only comes back to eat something or sleep. I'm really sorry about this Beca, I'll tell him you came by and want him to call you but you should probably head on home."

Beca frowned as she watched her retreat back into the house. _He's not home, he's leaving tomorrow. Where _is_ he? _Hope sprung up inside of her and she almost smiled as she took off running, praying that he's where she think he might be. _Please, please be there Jesse._

**This is a fast next chapter! Wheeeeere is Jesse? What did you guys think of Benji's side of the story? Is Jesse REALLY a killer? *rubs hands together manically* Haha… ;)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Stay**

**Chapter 11**

Beca's legs were screaming in protest by the time she got to the top of the mountain. As she glanced around, her heart sank down into her toes and a sob rose up in her chest. _No, no, no! He HAD to be here!_

A sudden movement caught her eye and she almost sighed in relief when Jesse stood from where he was sitting on the other side of a bolder, blocked from her view. He turned and froze when he saw her, a guilty expression crossing his face.

Beca was _lit._ She crossed the distance between them and put her hands out between them, shoving him backwards. Jesse took a step back and she shoved him again, tears rolling down her face as she continued to push him. "What is _wrong_ with you, Jesse?"

After about the fifth shove he grabbed her arms and pulled her against his chest, wrapping his arms around her in order to stop her struggles. She finally gave up trying to break free and sobbed into his chest, barely feeling his hands rubbing her back soothingly.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He whispered to her, over and over again.

When she had finally calmed down enough to where she could speak she pulled away from him and sat on the cool grass, rubbing her face with the palm of her hands. There was a moment's hesitation before he took a seat next to her, his body turned the opposite was as hers so that they were facing each other.

Beca looked over at him and noticed that he had dark bags under his eyes and that they were swollen: seems like she wasn't the only one who had been losing sleep and crying. Thanks to bumper Jesse also had a split lip, a nasty bruise on his left eye and his cheek was scratched.

"Why are you ignoring me?" she demanded, her voice sounding strained.

Jesse swallowed and looked down, "Why do you still want to talk to me? You heard what I did."

Beca felt sick, she had been hoping that it was all somehow a big misunderstanding. "I heard what Bumper said happened and I heard Benji's side, but I haven't heard yours."

Jesse's head shot up when she said Benji's name, his eyes flashing with something unreadable. "It doesn't matter."

"So, I don't matter?" she asked him quietly.

"Beca, I never said anything like that!"

"But it's true." She told him, shaking her head. "Because if I mattered to you then you wouldn't be keeping me in the dark like this."

"It has absolutely nothing to do with you!"

Beca felt like she's been sucker-punched. "Why are you so scared to tell me?"

Jesse looked at her with the most heart-breaking expression on his face; he looked so…_ashamed_ of himself. Of what he did. He shook his head before he finally spoke, "I've lost every single friend that I've ever had because of what happened. I was so stupid to think that you'd never find out about what happened. It's not like I was trying to trick you, I just didn't want to lose you too."

"Ignoring me for a week and refusing to speak to me isn't exactly helping you not lose me." She informed him.

"I didn't know what to say to you."

"I have an idea what you can say." She told him quietly, "The truth."

Jesse rubbed the back of his neck, "The truth." He hesitated, glancing at her. "There was this big party thrown by the seniors since it was almost the end of the school year. There was alcohol _everywhere_-"

"Benji said he didn't see you drinking." She interrupted.

Jesse grimaced, "I didn't. Aubrey did though, a _lot_. Aubrey came storming out of the house, her asshole boyfriend was yelling at her about something. I was the only one of us with a curfew and I was so worried about how pissed my parents would be if I came home late, so I told her I would take her home. I didn't have my license yet and she said- she said she was _fine_, so I let her drive."

Beca reached out and took his hand, which he squeezed before continuing.

* * *

"God, he's such a complete _ass!_" Aubrey shook her head, pressing her foot down a little harder on the accelerator. "I swear we are over for _good._"

Jesse laughed, "That's what you said last time, and also the time before that."

"Shut up." She told him playfully before letting out a _whoop!_ "Here comes Copperhead Curve, Jesse baby!"

Jesse forced a laugh for her sake and scooted back in his seat, planting his feet firmly on the floorboard and gripping the sides of the seat with his hands. He must be the only kid who _hated_ flying around the S-shaped curve at crazy speeds.

They rounded the first part and he felt his stomach lurch when they swerved into the middle of the road, Aubrey squealing in delight. _It's almost over_ Jesse kept repeating to himself, his whole body tense. It wasn't until he heard Aubrey made a strange noise that he realized something was _very_ wrong.

Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion and the only thing he could do was watch it all unfold before him. The car was heading for the ditch when Aubrey finally realized and yanked the wheel, hard. Too hard. Everything went dark.

Jesse opened his eyes and coughed a couple of times, gasping for air. He patted his body, making sure that he still had all of his body parts before sighing in relief and looking over to crack a joke to Aubrey about her horrible driving.

The moment he saw her, his smile disappeared. Aubrey's eyes were closed and her head was dropped down as if she were staring at her feet. Jesse reached over and shook her, his voice breaking. "Aubs?"

She didn't respond. Why wasn't she responding?

"Aubrey!" he croaked, shaking her again. He pulled his hand back and stared at the warm, sticky blood on his fingers. "No, no, no."

Jesse managed to undo his seat belt and shove the door open before he puked, his whole body shaking when he was finally able to stop. He had to go get help for Aubrey.

The climb back to the road felt like it took a millennium and it was but the grace of God that a truck happened to be coming towards him at that exact moment. Jesse lifted his arms and waved the vehicle down. It was a miracle – the ambulance would come and Aubrey would be fine.

* * *

"I don't understand why Bumper thinks you killed her, you weren't even driving." Beca frowned, rubbing her thumb back and forth across the back of his hand.

"Beca," he sighed, pulling his hand from hers. "He doesn't even know what really happened, he never let me explain. All he knows is that I was in the car with his sister and now she's dead. At the hospital he accused me of driving drunk and I just…didn't correct him. We all loved Aubrey but he idolized her, I couldn't taint his image of her, so I let him believe it was me. The cops know, that's why I wasn't in any trouble and I'm sure they told his parents but I don't think they wanted him to find that out either. It would crush him."

"But that's not fair."

"It's fine, Beca."

"It's _not_ fine."

Jesse sighed, "Okay, it's not _fine_ but I'd rather it be like this than hurt him even more by blaming his sister for it."

The two of them sat in silence for a moment before Beca cleared her throat, "Your mom said you're leaving tomorrow."

Jesse gave her a pained look, "I should have left two years ago."

"You're running away."

"Is it considered running away when there's nobody here to run _from_?"

Beca breath caught, "What about _me?_"

Jesse watched her carefully, his eyes taking in her puffy eyes and the tears that had started to well up again. He placed his hand on top of hers, "You deserve someone so much better, someone who hasn't totally fucked up-"

"Jesus Christ, Jesse!" she shouted, glaring hard at him. "Are you _serious_ right now? It's not like you _shot_ this girl, you just happened to be in the car with her while _she_ was driving drunk. Moving to another state is not going to erase it. All that's going to accomplish is you voluntarily leaving the people you still have. You're going to leave _me_."

"I didn't think you'd want to see me after what happened." He whispered, staring at their interlocked fingers.

Beca let out a shaky breath and leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face into his chest, holding him as close to her as she possibly could.

***sigh* so that's what happened-the truth has finally come out! Chapter 12 will be the final chapter to this story - eep! Gosh, that made me incredibly sad when I typed that o.o; Waahhh, all my loyal reviewers - you rock, I love you all! **


	12. Chapter 12

**STAY**

**Chapter Twelve**

_**Well it's good to hear your voice  
I hope you're doing fine  
And if you ever wondered I'm lonely here tonight**_

Graduation was three weeks later. Beca smoothed her dress down and pulled her hair to the side, smiling at her reflection. She snapped a picture on her phone and typed in the number before pressing Send.

"Beca!" she heard her dad shout from the living room. "It's time to go!"

Beca grinned as she pushed her arms into her gown and zipped it up over her dress, slipping her heels on and grabbing her hat before she hurried to meet her father in the living room.

"Come on, come on!"

"Stop rushing me!" Beca objected, hurrying out the door and to the car. "We have plenty of time."

Her phone buzzed in her hand on their drive to the school and she smiled down at it while clicking the Open New Message button.

_You're so beautiful. Xoxo, Jesse_

_**I'm lost here in this moment  
And time keeps slipping by  
And if I could have just one wish  
I'd have you by my side**_

Her heart expanded in her chest, a jolt of excitement rushing throughout her whole body.

It had been three weeks since she'd seen Jesse last:

_Beca wasn't sure that she could even cry anymore. She had cried so much this last week that she was almost positive that her tear ducts would be unable to produce any more. Now she stood in the Swanson's driveway with Jesse and his parents, watching while Jesse shoved his last duffel bag into his car trunk._

_She watched silently as he hugged his parents one at a time and then they went inside to give them time to say goodbye. _

_Goodbye. She was just supposed to tell the only boy she'd ever loved goodbye and then watch him leave her. How was this fair?_

_Jesse finally turned to her and crossed the distance separating them, pulling her into an embrace. Beca turned her head up so that she could look at him and he squeezed her harder when he saw the expression on her face._

"_I'm going to visit you all the time." He whispered, giving her a smile._

"_Yeah." She replied, trying to force a smile onto her own lips._

_His smile faltered when he saw how stricken she looked, "Beca, it's just for the summer."_

"_I know." Her voice shook._

"_Don't." he whispered. She could hear the tears in his voice and for some reason that made her angry, who was he to be so upset when he was the one choosing to leave her?_

"_I'm fine."_

_She shivered when he reached up and tucked a stray hair behind her ear and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. "We can Skype every night."_

_Couldn't he see how badly he was breaking her? Didn't he care?_

"_I can drive here probably every other weekend." He promised._

_Shit. There they were, the tears were stinging behind her eyes. Beca let out a shaky sigh, "You can stay, Jesse. Just…__**stay**__."_

_He rested his chin on the top of her head but said nothing and so she stood there, wrapped in his arms with tears sliding silently down her face. _

_Time seemed to stop in that moment. It was just the two of them, standing there together. When Jesse pulled away she let out a small whimper before wiping her tears off with the back of her hands, "Beca, do you trust me?"_

_She rolled her eyes at him, "Yes."_

"_Good." He grinned, "So _trust_ me with this."_

"_I just…don't want you to go."_

_He gave her a small laugh, "We're going to go to Barden U. In August you're going to see so much of me that it's going to make you sick."_

_Beca smiled at the thought and sniffled, "Not likely."_

"_I have to get going."_

_Their lips met for what only felt like seconds before he was in his car and backing out of the driveway. Beca stood there even after his car disappeared, she stood there when the sun began to set and she kept standing there as if she were in a daze until her dad appeared and pulled her into a hug._

Beca blinked back a fresh wave of tears. No, she was _not_ going to cry about this again.

_**Oh, oh, I miss you**_

"Beca! Over here!"

**_Oh, oh, I need you_**

Beca grinned at the red-head who was waving wildly at her, and waved to her dad before making her way to her. Chloe squealed and pulled her into a hug, "I'm totes ready to get this over with!"

"Are you coming to the after party?" Stacie asked her, adjusting her cleavage.

"I don't know." Beca told her, "My dad drove me, I probably can't."

"Leave your dad to me." Stacie grinned.

"Dude, no, stay away from my dad!"

Stacie just laughed and excused herself to the bathroom to apply more lipgloss. Chloe put an arm around Beca's shoulders and pulled her close, "Are you okay? How's the whole…Jesse thing?"

She could feel the corners of her lips twitch down, "It's our graduation day, let's not talk about that."

_**And I love you more than I did before  
And if today I don't see your face  
Nothing's changed, no one can take your place  
It gets harder every day**_

Chloe gave her a worried expression but didn't press the issue. Thank God. Chloe and Benji had been there for her the day Jesse left, after her dad called Chloe to come stay with her for the night. Benji had shown up with her and for hours she sat curled up in her comforter while the two of them told her hilarious story after story about Jesse.

They joined the rest of the group and Beca flashed Benji a smile while pretending that she didn't see the wounded look that Bumper was giving her; he seriously didn't understand why she was upset with him.

Benji smiled back at her but his focus was elsewhere, his eyes roaming through the crowd just inside the auditorium. Beca reached out and squeezed his hand, "Don't be nervous, it'll be over before we know it."

He nodded but continued to look anyways. Chloe clapped when their principal's voice sounded through the speakers, announcing that graduation was about to begin.

* * *

"Benji, who are you looking for?" Beca asked as the two of the walked together through the exit doors after their ceremony. "You have a hot date?"

She had noticed that all through their graduation he had been focused on the crowds, his eyes sweeping back and forth. His face reddened at her question and he shook his head, "Uh, no. Just trying to find my parents – oh shoot!"

Beca raised an eyebrow at him while he snapped his fingers, "I forgot to tell my parents something – hey, we're all supposed to meet in the music room for a last Hoorah. You go on ahead and I'll meet you as soon as I find my parents."

"I'll just go with you and we can-"

"No!" he almost shouted before giving her a weird laugh. "Truth is – I have a present for you that I have to get from them and I don't want you to see it. So just…go wait for me in there?"

Beca laughed at him before shaking her head and turning to make her way to the music room. The moonlight streamed in through the windows so she was able to see without having to hit the light switch, which was good because she doubted that their principal would be too happy about catching them all in there.

"Hey."

Beca shrieked at the voice and spun around, her heart pounding first in alarm and then in happiness. "Jesse!"

Beca closed the distance between them and threw her arms around him, "You're here!"

He laughed and held her close, "I couldn't miss your graduation."

"Oh, Jesse, everyone's going to meet in here. They'll be here any second." Jesse laughed and she blushed, "Aaaand that was just a lie to get me in here."

Jesse pulled her into a kiss, "I missed you."

"I missed you too." She breathed, her heart pounding madly in her chest. "So much."

"I love you." he murmured against her lips.

Beca felt everything inside of her expand and tingle, it was almost as if her body was being pumped with helium. She felt like if Jesse wasn't wrapped around her that at any second she would start floating away. There were so many things in Beca's life that she wasn't sure of, like: what she wanted to go to college for, who she wanted to _be_ and even if her high school friends would remain as her loyal companions until they were all old and gray.

However, there was _one_ thing she knew for a fact: Jesse.

She knew that she loved Jesse and she would never feel this way about any other guy in the world, she knew that she would always want to make him happy and she knew that as long as it was Jesse and Beca...they could get through anything.

_**And I love you more than I did before  
And I'm sorry that it's this way  
But I'm coming home, I'll be coming home  
And if you ask: I will STAY…. **_

* * *

**Last. Chapter. Eek! **

**So there it is: set up so that maybe in a month or so (maybe sooner, maybe later) I can make a sequel. I'm working on an entirely different PP story and hopefully I will see you guys and read your reviews when that one gets posted.**

**Until then... love, love, hugs all around!**


	13. Update

Okay my lovely, lovely readers.

I have _finally_ started the sequel: Remain. s/9315718/1/

It's short because I live in OK w/ all the storms going through and my computer not only wiped out the first chapter...but also my stupid freaking outline of THE WHOLE STORY. So I was like screw it, I'll play it by ear. Haha...scared.


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